He hit the shot so badly, it missed the lake. He is in second place

Last year, Nick Dunlap put on a clinical performance by winning the US Amateur over Neal Shipley at Cherry Hills.

Saturday at FedEx St. Jude Championship, Dunlap hit a terrible shot, missing the pond to the right of the par-4 12th.

Normally, that wouldn't suggest a good attitude in a golfer, but that couldn't be further from Dunlap's reality and how he played the 12th hole was proof of that.

Dunlap knew his 388-yard shot on the par-4 wasn't good even before his eyes popped out to see where it was going. He dropped the club as his eyes confirmed what the ball had told him.

He cut his right wrist in frustration.

“I almost missed the ball completely,” Dunlap said after his round. “My right hand was a little off the club, and I thought it was out of bounds.”

It was somehow not. In fact, Dunlap's ball was in an area that he admitted he did not know even at TPC Southwind. The ball has completely cleared the pond that runs along the short dogleg right and has made dry land, even the spectators watching on the bank are unaware.

The lake was more than 60 meters wide. Dunlap missed his target by about 80 yards.

“I didn't even know there was grass over there, to be honest with you. I thought it was the houses,” he said.

Dunlap's shooting was so bad it was good, but that doesn't mean he's out of this free zone. The 20-year-old, who became a champion in January after becoming the first rookie to win on the PGA Tour in more than three decades, still had to swing the shot back over the lake, around a tree and the hospitality tent to reach it. green.

After finding relief in the hospitality tent – when NBC Commentator Smylie Kaufman chose to drive a shot at Dunlap, fortunately, he moved his ball to the left, returned to the water, but away from the branches of the trees.

The next magazine found the yard. There were no sprinkler heads on one side of the lake and going back to the other side would take too much time. That led to an awkward sequence with Dunlap's player, Hunter Hamrick, yelling across the pond to Scottie Scheffler's caddy, Ted Scott, to ask Scott to read them the sprinkler heads. Scott obliged and that's the right thing to do under the rules, but it's not often seen on Tour.

Finally, his feet under the ball and standing on the edge of the penalty area on the edge of the lake, Dunlap hit a dunk over the water, only this one didn't go as intended.

“Forward!”

He pulled his way and watched it go a long way from there, into the gallery, on the short sides towards the left pin.

“Dunlap's adventure at 12 continues here at TPC Southwind,” NBC's Dan Hicks said.

This was Dunlap who had struggled to adjust to the sudden change in life on the PGA Tour. After winning the American Express in January, Dunlap spent his last two and a half years in college at Alabama and turned pro to receive his automatic membership on the PGA Tour.

His first professional start came two weeks after he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Finished 80th in the 80-player, uncut event. It didn't get much better as by the time July started, he had missed five times, including the first three majors of the year and failed to get a fourth place, an Open Championship, and just one top-10.

Finally, his game came up again. He won the Barracuda Championship, played opposite the Open, crediting his hobby with helping him feel at home on the road. His first non-scoring win at the FedEx Cup, which put Dunlap in the top 70, earned him a spot in the first Playoffs event this week.

He is putting that to good use this week as when he played the 12th hole, he was 12 under for the week and in second alone, two shots behind Hideki Matsuyama. And he didn't let the 12th hole get in his way.

From the wrong side of the fairway, Dunlap hit his chip short of the green and watched it bounce off the green and land just four feet.

He holed the putt for par. When his eyes met Hamrick's as his caddy changed the flag, he grinned from ear to ear.

“How you make 4, you will never believe!” Hicks said.

It's funny, because Dunlap still says it's hard to believe he's in this position. After his third-round 66 saw him finish 12 under, alone in second and fifth behind Matsuyama, he reminded reporters that if he hadn't won in January, he would be in Minnesota this week, defending his US Amateur title. .

“I'm supposed to be playing the US Am this week, and I just finished playing a round of golf with Scottie. It was really good,” he said. “[If I] don't win Amex, I have no status. I think Luke Clanton did it, and he finished second. You get two points, for a week, get NIL on it and move on. But yes, it stresses me out almost every week.”

Should he hold on to second place or chase down Matsuyama, he will only guarantee himself a place in the Tour Championship after being considered for the playoffs four weeks ago.

Although he has no desire to end his season this week, that doesn't mean he isn't ready to rest and reflect on what could be the biggest storm in his life.

“I'm looking forward to taking a little break and reviewing the year and sitting down and celebrating and looking back at some of the things that happened this year,” said Dunlap. “It's really amazing, and I never thought I'd be standing here.

“But I have, I'm very lucky, and yes, hopefully, I can look back in a few weeks.”

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A native of Pennsylvania, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was the captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as the head coach. Jack is also *still* trying to stay competitive with the local novices. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a reporter/multimedia reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting weather. He can be reached at [email protected].